Talking to Myself
by Cattie V
Summary: While still recovering from the Atlantis Complex, Artemis finds himself trapped in a dream with his alternate personality, Orion. How will they get along? One Shot.


_Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl belongs to Eoin Colfer, I'm just borrowing him for a while._

_Author's Note: As much as I'd like to admit it, idea isn't totally mine. The credit for the whole Artemis/Orion bit goes to Kiki from Artemis Fowl Confidential. She just suggested that someone write a fanfic using the idea, so I went with it and took it. _

Artemis knew he had to be dreaming. He knew that his body was lying in a hospital bed in Haven. Yet in his mind he was soaring through the air without a care in the world. It was a too wonderful and all too illogical to be true.

_I'm flying,_ _which is impossible, so I must be dreaming._ This bugged him. Artemis was a very logical person, even in his dreams. Everyone had weird, unrealistic dreams every once in a while, but not Artemis. This was the first time that he had ever dreamed of something so unreal and this scared thim.

"Wake up!" he told himself. "Wake up right this minute!" He tried pinching and slapping himself, but none of them had any effect. He even tried closing his eyes and opening them.

"Oh, just shut up and enjoy thyself." said a familiarly annoying voice. Artemis groaned. He turned to see a boy who looked in every respect identical to him sitting on a cloud. _Orion._ Then he realized what Orion had said. _Thyself? Really? No one talks like that anymore._

"What are you doing here?" Artemis demanded.

Orion rolled his eyes. "For a genius, thou art uncommonly slow sometimes." _Thou Art? _ "We doth share the same body you know. So, of course we'd both be in the same dream."_ Doth?_

"I suppose you are right." said Artemis. He flinched realizing he was counting his words again. When would this ever stop? He sincerely hoped that he wouldn't be like this for the rest of his life.

"So," said Orion jumping up and down on the cloud like it was a trampoline, "how doth the fair maiden?" _Fair maiden? Poor Holly! No wonder she can't stand him._

"Who?" asked Artemis innocently.

Orion glared at him. "Thou knowst full well of whom I doth speak!"

Artemis couldn't help it, he just lost it. He didn't know how, but the next thing he knew he was rolling through the air laughing so hard that his stomach hurt and tears started streaming from his eyes. Orion just stared at him as if Artemis had gone mad. Perhaps he had.

Artemis whipped the tears from his eyes and caught his breath. "Art thou done yet?" Orion asked him. Artemis stifled a chuckle, as he was afraid that he was about to go off again.

"Have you listened to yourself?" Artemis asked. "You sound like an idiot! No one speaks like that anymore."

"You still haven't answered my question." Orion said suddenly changing his style of speaking. "How is the fair lady?"

"Her name is Holly!" Artemis said indignantly. "Holly. Not "fair lady" or maiden or princess. Holly. She doesn't like being called anything else. And in answer to your question she's fine."

"Does she miss me?" The question was so unexpected that it quite took Artemis by surprise. He looked at Orion and for a minute saw not a romantic idiot, but instead himself, and the hardness of heart slowly melted.

He hesitated. Normally he would have said no without a second's thought, but now...could he really? He knew Orion deserved to know the truth, but the truth would hurt him. Did he really want to do that?

"Yes." he said finally. "Yes, she does."

"Really?" Orion's eyes light up. "That's a relief. For a moment there I thought she didn't like me, but I guess there was nothing for me to be scared of, was there?"

Artemis didn't say anything, he couldn't, but Orion mistook his silence for confirmation of what he had just said. "I know!" said Orion, filled with sudden animation. "When...we wake up...why don't I be the one to wake up? That way I can say hello! Won't that be a good surprise!"

_And she'll kill me,_ Artemis thought. Then he suddenly panicked. _That was only four words! Four. Death, death, death. _He began to shudder and suddenly started shaking with cold. _There's nothing to be afraid of. You are alright. _

"Artemis?" asked Orion, a note of worry in his voice. "Are you alright?" Artemis continued to shake. Orion reached out and touched him on the arm. "Artemis, you're burning up!" 

"Artemis!" Both boys jumped as Holly's voice reached them from nowhere. "Artemis, wake up." There was a brief pause and then her voice came back panicked. "Foaly, get Butler! Artemis? Artemis! Wake up. Foaly! He's burning up. He's temperature is climbing really fast!" 

"Holly!" Orion shouted. "Holly!"

"She can't hear us." Artemis told him, still shaking. "This is just in my head. This is just a dream. She can't hear us." _Four words. That last sentence was four words! Death, death, death, death! _Suddenly it began pouring rain and the two boys were both drenched in a matter of seconds.

"Stop it!" Orion shouted. "Artemis, you have to stop this! This is all in your head. You're making it rain. Make it stop!"

_Death, death, death. Four means death._ "Artemis!" Orion shouted over the noise of the rain. "Artemis, stop thinking like that. Four is just a number...a word, it cannot hurt you!"

"Artemis." Holly's voice again. " Artemis, please wake up!" Artemis shivered but not from the cold. Holly sounded scared. Really scared. He had never heard her sound this frightened.

"We're losing him, Holly." Foaly's voice. "He's dying."

"What?" Orion cried in astonishment. "No! I don't want to die!" He turned to Artemis. "Artemis, this is your mind, your body! You have to stop thinking about death!"

"Artemis!" Holly's voice sounded full of anguish now. "Artemis, please, you can't do this!" Her voice broke and both boys could swear that she was crying. "Artemis, you have to live. Please! For...for me."

Artemis froze. He was still thinking about death, but Holly's voice and her words caught him off guard. Was it possible...?

Orion turned on him. "I knew it!" he said tears streaming down his face and mixing with the rain. "It's you she cares about and not me." Orion buried his face in his hands. "And you know what? You don't deserve her! She's too good for you!"

Artemis looked at Orion and for once, he knew he was right. Holly was too good for him. She was too good for anyone. "True." He said simply. "But it isn't about what she deserves, is it? It's about what she wants."

"And she wants you." Orion said bitterly. "Not me."

"But you are me!" Artemis reminded him. "We're two parts of the same person!" The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

"Artemis, please! I need you!" Holly's voice was full of desperation. _I can't do this to her! I have to wake up! _

Artemis looked at Orion. "Well?" He offered Orion his hand. Orion looked at it and then at Artemis and slowly a smile spread across his face. He reached out and took the offered hand, then the world went black.

"Artemis." Holly whispered the name, hoping against hope to see some sign of recovery, but nothing happened.

"Holly?" She turned, tears in her eyes and saw Foaly standing in the door way, with Butler and Artemis's mother standing behind him. The latter was staring at her son and was crying. Holly got up and went over to her. "Mrs. Fowl?"

Angeline's gaze moved from Artemis to the fairy before her. "You must be Holly." She tried to smile, but it felt fake. "He...he told all about you. The last time we talked...he said...he said he admired you."

Butler put a comforting arm on her shoulder. "How he is?" he asked Holly. She just shook her head and the small group cried and tried to give each other comforted.

Artemis's eyes slowly fluttered open and he instantly recognized the hospital room. _Hey! I'm back! _He quickly looked around for Holly and soon spotted her near the door way with Foaly, Butler, and..._Mother?_ They all looked like they were crying.

"Who died?" He asked, a smile on his face. They all whirled around and Artemis laughed when he saw the astonished looks on their faces. "What? Did you just see a ghost or something?"

"Artemis!" Angeline rushed forward and hugged her son. Butler and Foaly followed behind her, but Holly stayed where she was.

"Boy, we thought you were a goner!" said Foaly.

"You must be disappointed, Donkey Boy."

The centaur laughed. "Good. It's Artemis and not Orion."

"Well, sort of. I am technically both."

"Well, just don't go spouting romantic witticisms."

"I won't." Butler noticed that the whole time Artemis was talking his eyes never left Holly. He gently nudged Angeline, who followed his gaze then nodded.

"Come on, Foaly." she started to lead him out. "We'll talk to Artemis soon."

"What?" But Foaly soon caught on and then left without a fuss.

Holly and Artemis just stared at each other for several seconds. "Thanks." he said finally.

"For what?" she asked taking a couple steps forward.

"It was your voice that brought me back." he told her. He reached out his hand and Holly came and took it.

"So, you heard me?"

"Every word."

"Oh, dear."

Artemis laughed and Holly stared at him in surprised delight. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. You should do it more often."

"I think I will."

"Well...um...I...we never had our talk...about...Orion."

"He was right you know."

"About what?"

Artemis squeezed her hand and gave her the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. "I do think about you all the time, Holly."

"Thanks. I guess."

He laughed again and now it was Holly's turn to smile. "Did you mean it?" he asked.

"Mean what?" She felt the blood rushing to her face.

"When you said you needed me?"

Holly opened her mouth to deny it, but found herself saying. "Yes, I did. Everyword."

"Good. Because I need you too."

"I know."

The two smiled at each just and Holly just sat there holding his hand and afraid to ever let it go.

_Author's Note: Wow! That was longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, I had fun writing it. What do you think?_


End file.
